This Shabbat we celebrate a very special moment in the Torah, a very musical moment in Jewish biblical history. This Shabbat is Shabbat Shirah.
It is the Sabbath of Singing, brimming with extraordinary music to celebrate
Moshe and Miriam leading the Israelites across the Sea of Reeds and out of Egypt.
This Shabbat we read Parashat Beshalach.
Shabbat Shirah gets its name from part of the sedra known as Shirat HaYam
(song of the sea).
Liturgically, this is the part of the Torah from which the Rabbis selected Mi Chamocha to become part of our worship. The prayer is taken from Shemot 15, 11 and 18. "Mi chamocha ba-ei-lim Adonai, mi ka-mocha ne-e-dar ba-kodesh, no-rah t'hi-lot o-seh feleh (11). Adonai yim-loch l'o-lam va-ed
(18).(Who is like You, O G.d, among the gods that are worshipped? Who
is like You, O G.d, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, working
wonders (11)? Adonai will reign forever and ever (18)!).
Musically, not only does Shabbat Shirah
lend itself to be a service throughout which one is totally immersed in
amazing music led by the Cantor, choir, temple band and guest
musicians, there is a special musical motif that exists just for this
song/poem in the Torah. An excerpt of
the Shirah chant was included in the movie The Prince of Egypt in the song "When You Believe."
This week's Torah reading contains the "song at the sea" sung by the Children of Israel upon their deliverance from the Egyptians, when the Red Sea split to allow them to pass and then drowned their pursuers.
Our sages tell us that the birds in the sky joined our ancestors in their singing; for this reason it is customary to put out food for the birds for this Shabbat (to avoid the possibility of transgressing the laws of Shabbat, the food should be put out before Shabbat).
